


Interludes

by NotaDroid (mjonhunt)



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Episode Related, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Season/Series 03, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:01:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24027844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mjonhunt/pseuds/NotaDroid
Summary: This takes place during Season 3. After the Johnny McHale case "True Night" Reid and Emily have a series of sexual encounters. Will they lead to something serious or are they just interludes?
Relationships: Emily Prentiss/Spencer Reid
Comments: 5
Kudos: 53





	1. True Night

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: as always, I own nothing, no copyright infringement is intended.
> 
> A/N: This one is going to be a short fic, only 4 or 5 chapters. It starts with the Season 3 episode "True Night" and ends with the 2-part episode Lo-Fi/Mayhem. This is a straight-up Reid/Prentiss pairing.
> 
> The chapter titles are the Criminal Minds Episodes they take place during or right after.

As Emily Prentiss sat at her desk in the bullpen of the BAU offices, she kept thinking about Johnny McHale.

She just couldn't stop thinking about how he was a normal guy once. But after a gang brutally killed his fiancé, he became an unsub; taking his revenge by brutally killing them. He wasn't a really bad guy, not in the beginning, anyway.

Understanding that suggested a disturbing question for Emily. _Given what happened to Johnny, what's to prevent anyone from becoming an unsub?_

She shared her concern with Dave Rossi. All he could think to say was,"Life is a hell of thing to happen to people." That gave her no comfort. So she sat at her desk, pretending to work, hoping a comforting insight would come to her. She was so deeply lost in thought that she didn't realize someone was standing behind her.

"Um...Emily?"

"What?" It came out in a harsh, irritated tone. She looked up scowling at ...Spencer Reid. "I'm sorry," she apologized immediately.

"It's just everyone else is gone."

She looked around and saw he was right.

"I guess I was just deep in thought." She said.

"Yeah. So, I was wondering if you'd like to get some coffee."

"Coffee?"

"Well, coffee that wasn't made in a law enforcement coffee pot. I'm guessing you're working away because you're not ready to go home."

For a brief moment she thought about telling him exactly why she wasn't ready to go home yet, but decided against it. "Yeah, you're right. I am most definitely not ready to go home yet."

"Me either. So, how about getting some decent coffee?"

Emily thought about it. What was the harm?

"Sure, why not?"

Forty-five minutes later they were sitting down in a coffee shop in Georgetown drinking coffee when Reid asked," So, are you having the nightmares yet?"

Emily was sipping her coffee when he asked, and the question took her so off-guard that she spewed out the coffee.

"What?"

"I was just wondering if you were having nightmares." Reid said calmly.

"Who the hell starts a conversation like that?"

"I wasn't starting a conversation, just a new topic."

"You know what I mean. Why would you even ask me a question like that?"

"I saw you in the bullpen."

"So?"

"You were pretending to work."

"I was working."

"You opened a bunch of unrelated files on you desk and hoped no one noticed."

"What makes you think..." she didn't finish the question, because she remember how fast Reid could read. A quick glance of the files was all he would need to realize they were three unrelated cases.

"Even though one of them was upside down, I could still read them all. So, for some reason you don't want to go home. Now, you might go out, but you stayed behind and pretended to work. I remembered when I started having the nightmares, I did everything I could to avoid going to sleep. So, is that why you don't want to go home?"

Emily sighed. "No. It isn't that."

"Then it must be the conversation you had with Rossi on the plane."

"How do you know what we said? You were reading your comic book."

"I read your files while asking you out for coffee, Emily, don't you think I can read a comic book and listen to people talking a few feet away from me?"

"I hate you."

"So, it is what you and Rossi were talking about. About John McHale, I mean."

"Yeah."

"Except he's not the one you're worried about."

"I thought we weren't supposed to profile each other."

"This is different."

"Why?"

For the first time since they left the offices, Reid hesitated.

"I uh...I'm trying to make amends."

"Amends?"

"I ...owe you. I've not always been nice to you. And then you were so nice to me, about Gideon."

"I was just being a friend."

"And so am I. You're afraid you could be an unsub."

"Maybe."

"I don't think you have anything to worry about."

"You don't know that. How can any of us know?"

"You know, when I first had the nightmare, when it got bad enough, I told Morgan."

"Yeah?"

"And Morgan told Gideon."

"How did that go?"

"Well, first I was mad at Morgan. But I thought about what Gideon said, and I think it might be relevant to your concern."

"What did he say?"

"He said the difference between me and the unsubs was I cared about people. He said that was a strength, not a weakness."

"Johnny cared about people."

"He cared about his _fiance_. You care about people. Even with everything you've seen, you're still kind, even to people who haven't been kind to you. You could never bring yourself to do things to people unsubs do. You may not believe it about yourself, but I do. I don't know if that means anything to you. But I thought you should know."

Emily was quiet. He talked about her kindness despite the things she had seen. It occurred to her that his kindness was equally remarkable. She smiled at him and said," It means a lot to me." She looked concerned. "I got coffee on you."

He shrugged. "It's no big deal."

"It is. Come on, let's go to my place. We can get your shirt cleaned up."

"It's no problem."

"Spencer, please, let me."

He smiled. "Sure. Why not?"

When they got to her place, she told Reid to take off his shirt.

"Why?"

"So I can clean it."

"It's fine, see you can't tell anything spilled on it."

"Come on Reid, just take it off. if you're feeling shy just change in the bathroom. You have your go bag with you, right?"

"Emily, it's fine, really."

"Come on Reid, it won't take long."

"It's fine."

She was starting to get annoyed and grabbed him by his shirt. "Why are you being stubborn about this?"

"Why are you?"

For weeks afterwords, Emily would swear what happened next was Reid's fault. All she had in mind was cleaning his shirt when she invited him to her place. For some reason, however, her reaction to his question was to kiss him.

She pulled him towards and just started kissing him, a long, hard, deep kiss. It should be noted that for his part, Dr. Reid didn't fight her. He was just as much an active participant in the kiss as she was. When the kiss ended, Reid asked,"What you doing?"

She raised both her eyebrows and said,"What, a genius profiler like you doesn't recognize a woman making sexual advances?"

To her great surprise, she realized that was exactly what she was doing. It wasn't her intention when she invited Reid to her place. Now that he was here, however..."

"I...uh,"Reid said," I recognize it I just don't understand it. I mean, is this just your coping mechanism?"

"If sex was my coping mechanism, I wouldn't have been the office, staring at files. I would have gone to the nearest bar picked up a random stranger."

"Then I don't understand why..."

"Do I need reasons? All right Dr. Reid, I'll give you reasons."

She kissed him lightly on the cheek. "One, you were very nice and sensitive to me, trying to make me feel better. That's the kind of behavior that should be encouraged, don't you think?"

Without waiting for his response, she kissed him again, closer to his mouth this time. "Two, I find you attractive. I know _you_ don't think you're handsome, but _I_ do." The way she smiled while she said it and the steady, sultry tone of her voice made him think she was being sincere.

"Three," she said as she lightly kissed his lips,"is your hands. " As she spoke she took his hand in hers, interweaving her fingers into his. "They're such long, thin, lovely hands. I bet they could all sorts of things to me. Plus, the size of your hands is supposed to be proportional to...you know what I mean."

"My penis?"

She smiled. "Yes. And size does matter. It's not the end-all and be-all, but it is a consideration. And I'm just curious how big you are." She kissed him again, full on the mouth. "And fourth,..."

"Emily," he said. "I get it."

"Do you?" She said.

In answer, he kissed her full on the mouth. Then, as she thought, his hands were quite skillful at removing her shirt and bra. That lead to activities that, among other things, lead to become intimately aware of the exact size of _all_ his body parts.

A few hours later they were in Emily's bed, both quite naked. Emily's head was laying on Reid's chest. They had just finished a little while ago and they had settled into silence.

Reid broke the silence,"Uh, Emily, I have to confess something."

"Oh?"

"I'm not really experienced at this."

"At sex? I have absolutely no complaints, if that's what you're worried about."

"It's not that it...I'm sure what I sure do next. I mean, I gather most the time after having sex most men try to leave as soon as possible."

"Do you want to leave?" she asked.

"Not really, no."

She smiled warmly and said,"Then I wouldn't," as she snuggled up against him.

"I mean, what happens next?"

"I don't know. I really didn't plan for any of this, it just happened. It felt right. Didn't it feel right to you?"

"It did. It's just..."

"Don't think about what happen next. You and I both know there's know way to know what could happen next. So let's just enjoy what's happening now. Ok?"

He smiled. "OK."


	2. A Higher Power

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: As always, I own nothing, no copyright infringement is intended.  
> A/N: This chapter picks up after the episode "Higher Power"

Emily Prentiss felt guilty. More specifically, she felt guilty about how she had been treating Spencer Reid lately. It wasn't that she was being mean it's just she wasn't treating him any differently than she did before their one-night stand. In her defense, he wasn't treating her any differently either. It was almost as if it hadn't happened.

She should have called him or talked to him about it or something, but she never did. The problem was the longer the silence went on, the harder it seemed to her to say anything about it. Then they had the case in Pittsburgh.

It was a difficult case, and at the beginning it didn't even seem that there was an unsub. The only true empirical fact was a significant spike in suicides in the aftermath of a community center burning down. It was a terrible tragedy, but one detective thought there was something suspicious. During the course of the investigation, it became clear that there was an unsub who was killing people and making it look like suicide.

One of the reasons they looked like suicides was there were suicide notes that were in the victims handwriting. At least, it appeared they were suicide notes. After studying them for a while, Reid came to a different conclusion.

"I think they're amends."

"Amends?" Emily asked.

"Some...support groups have their members write out amends."

The pause was palpable and telling, at least it was to Emily. Reid talked about self-help and grief groups, but there was something in his tone that made Emily think he was deliberately leaving a category of support groups out.

He made no mention of 12-steps groups, but Emily knew, absolutely knew, he had more than just a passing familiarity with them. In that moment her guilt overwhelmed her. Not only had she not sought him out after their one night stand, she never asked him how he was doing. They all knew he struggled with drug addiction. They all knew why, and yet not single one of them tried to help him.

She, even more the rest of them, should have.

That's why once the case was over, and they were all back in the office, she was determined to talk to Reid. She would stop being a bad friend. She wouldn't leave until he did and she would talk to him, more importantly - she wold listen to him. She would be there for him, the same way he was there for her so many weeks ago.

So it was that she pretended to be working on paperwork at her desk until she saw him pack his stuff up at his desk. She managed to be standing next to him while he was waiting for the elevator. They were the only two that got in the elevator. Once the doors closed she said,"You know, if you ever needed to talk about ...well ...anything, you know you can call me, right? I mean, absolutely any time."

"Okay, sure."

"Good."

They were both quiet for a moment.

"I'm not just saying it," she said," I really mean it."

"Does this have anything to do with our one-weekend stand?"

"One weekend?"

"Well, it wasn't really a one-night stand. I mean, I was at your place all weekend. I'm not complaining, but you couldn't call it a one-night stand is all."

"Oh. I never thought about it like that. I guess."

They were both quiet again.

"It's not," she said. "Not about that weekend, I mean. It's just, I was thinking. During this case, that maybe you might have times you might want or need to talk about things. I just wanted you to know that I've here for you, anytime. Absolutely anytime at all, I mean."

"Like now?"

"Right. If you want to talk, I'm here for you."

Without any warning at, Reid started kissing her. Before she knew it, they were making out like teenagers.

_It's not fair that he's such a good kisser_ , Emily thought. _I'm not trying to get laid tonight. I'm really not._

When they broke off kissing that's what she told him. Well, that's what she meant to tell him. What she actually said was,"I'm not trying to...not tonight, anyway."

"Are you saying you don't want to again."

"Well, I'm not saying I'm opposed to the idea but..."

"Good." Then he kissed her again.

Somehow they ended up at his apartment. Like before, it wasn't long before their clothes came off and then they ended up in bed. It seemed to Emily that the sex was better than before. It started slow, sensual, and tender. Then, at least for a while, it become, hot, heavy, and frenzied. Then it slowed down again, almost completely stopping as they both climaxed. Then, without either of them saying a word, it began again.

When it all finally subsided, she lay with her head on his chest. "I wasn't trying to get laid tonight," she said softly. "I'm not complaining, but I really just wanted to tell if you ever needed to talk."

"Why do you think I needed to talk?"

"Well, in Pittsburgh..."

"What about it?"

"When you were talking about amends and support groups..."

"Yeah?"

"I got the feeling there was something you thought about saying. Maybe you had an experience with them?"

"What kind of experience?"

"There's something we never talk about, any of us I mean."

"No, I don't."

"Dialud. Tobias Henkel."

"Ah."

"I'm not saying I think you're using, but I just...We both know recovery from a addiction isn't a once and done thing. It's easy for the rest of us to forget what you have to struggle with. It isn't fair to you."

"You feel guilty about it?"

"Yes."

"Hotch never reported me. That was a gift. No one did, even when I was on a case and ignored my phone. You have nothing to feel guilty about."

"Well, I do. About that and ..."

"And not calling after that weekend?"

"Right."

"You don't anything to feel guilty about, on either thing."

"Well, I do."

"You're really very sweet."

"I'm not, you know."

"Yes you are, you just don't think so."

"Well..."

He kissed her, interrupting what she was going to say.

"It's okay," he said. "I'm fine. And no matter what you feel, you have nothing to feel guilty about."

Emily didn't say anything, she just kissed him.


	3. Elephant's Memory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This takes place during the episode Elephant's Memory  
> Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or any character associated with it, no copyright infringement is intended.

Emily Prentiss was calm.

At least, that's how she hoped she appeared.

They were in the BAU jet going home from North Bune, TX. Young Owen Savage had gone on a killing spree against anyone who had bullied him in some way. They were able to take Owen Savage in, but only because of Reid. That wasn't the problem; it was how Reid brought him in. Reid confronted him unarmed without his flak vest.

No, not that wasn't the problem. It was that he was acting unprofessionally throughout the case, and you didn't need to be a genius to figure why. Reid identified with Owen, they were both bullied. The difference was Reid never became a killer.

Emily was reading her book. Morgan was listening to his music through his headphones. JJ and Rossi were asleep. Reid was up front with Hotch. Emily figured Hotch was reprimanding Reid. There were all kinds of reasons why what Reid did was wrong. But none of those bothered Emily.

What bothered her was that Reid didn't tell her what he was doing. She felt she deserved more from him because, after all, they were ...

What were they?

They had sex a few times. That's all that happened. You really couldn't call it a relationship, now could you?

_But you want it to be, don't you Emily?_

What if I do? What's wrong with wanting something more from him?

_Then make a move. Don't just brood over it, talk to him._

Yeah. Sure. Just tell your occasional lover you want to be something more.

Emily Prentiss had no problem facing off with rapists, serial killers and an evil section chief. But the thought of telling Reid she wanted more a series of sexual interludes from him filled her with dread.

_That's what I thought._

It was quite bit later when Emily made her move. They were off the jet and back at the BAU offices. Everyone was starting to go home. Emily kept pretending to be busy until she saw Reid getting to leave. Then she followed him to the elevators.

"Reid" she began to say, but he cut her off.

"Don't."

"Don't what?"

"Whatever it is you're going to say. Maybe what I did was unprofessional, but you know what...it was the right thing to do. I believe it even if no one else does. No, I don't need to talk. Any before you say it, I don't owe you an explanation - for anything."

"Really?"

"You think you deserve it? Why? Because we had sex a few times? That's nothing. Okay? Nothing. So leave it alone."

Emily was quiet for a minute. The elevator door opened and they both got in. When the doors closed and the elevator started to descend Emily said," Let me just say some thing."

"What?" Reid was clearly annoyed.

"First of all, I didn't demand anything of you or accuse you of anything. So I don't think I deserve your anger. I don't know if what you did was right or wrong. But I do understand it. I don't know what you went through when you were a kid. I know that when I was in high school, I always felt like I didn't fit in. You were younger than all the other kids and probably felt even more out of place. So I can imagine you probably were bullied. I get it. There are things about me you don't know. As for us, maybe all it means to you is a little meaningless sex. But don't think you know everything about me or everything we could be. I wish you had trusted me enough to tell me what you had planned, but you didn't. I wish I knew if you wanted to have something more from me than some occasional sex. Because I would like us to have more than a little sex."

They were both silent for a moment, then Emily spoke again.

"I don't know if this movie you were going to is something you take company to," Emily began. Reid was late to the group meeting before they left for Texas, and the excuse he gave was going to a movie. Everyone knew he wasn't talking about a movie. Emily guessed, it was a 12-step meeting. Emily hoped he was going back tonight.

"Not really."

"Fine."

"I mean ... I think there's ...I don't know if..." Reid shifted his weight a few times. "Do you want to come with me?"

"Only if you want me too," Emily said.

Reid nodded. "I...I think I'd like that."

The elevator doors opened and the walked out.

"I'm sorry," Reid said.

"For what?"

"For snapping at you. For not telling you what I was planning. For not trusting...anyone really and some things I can't quite articulate."

Emily smiled. Then she kissed him on the cheek. "Apology accepted."

Reid took her hand and they walked away from the elevators arm in arm.


	4. In Heat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> JJ and Emily talk following the events of the episode, "In Heat".

JJ could not believe she kissed Will in front of everyone. They knew. Everyone knew she and Will LaMontagne were dating.

Hotch knew.

Morgan knew.

Rossi knew.

Reid knew.

Emily knew.

After a year of hiding the relationship from everyone, they knew. Now itwas real.

The very thing she feared – that she was in a real relationship and everyone knew – happened.

The earth didn't swallow her up. It wasn't awful. The truth was, she felt free. For the first time, in a really long time, she felt alive.

The team was on the jet headed back to Quantico. Will was headed back to New Orleans. The next time they saw each other, it wouldn't be a covert operation. She would be open about it. She would say she was going to see her boyfriend.

No more hiding. No more secrets.

It felt great.

She couldn't focus enough to read, and she was too hyped up to sleep. She looked around on the jet.

Ross and Hotch were talking. She didn't know what they were talking aabout, but they were animated and smiling at each other. Morgan was listening to music. Reid was reading a book. So was Emily.

At least, it looked like Emily was reading. Slowly. She hadn't turned the page in her book for over ten minutes. She was smiling. It was warm. It was inviting. It was …smug?

Smug.

Emily's smile was definitely smug. Why? What did she have to be smug about?

JJ ran through the events of the last few days in her mind. Emily remarking how handsome Will was. Emily giving JJ knowing looks. Emily telling JJ she should go for it. That she would be a cute couple. It was almost like she was daring JJ to kiss him. Or give her permission. Or …

She knew. Emily knew about JJ and Will the whole time!

How?

"So how long have you known," JJ asked.

"I'm sorry?" Emily had a quizzical look on her face, but still a bit of a smile.

"How long have you known about me and Will? And don't deny it."

Emily's smile got broader. "About six months."

JJ brought her hand to her face. She was sure she was blushing. " I should have known I couldn't fool you."

"Me?" Emily's eyes flicked towards the rest of the cabin.

"Everyone knew?"

"Well, Morgan, Garcia, and Reid, at least."

"How –"

"You are a great media liaison, JJ. Covert op – not so much."

"So, goaded me into – "

"Goaded? No. I made a _few_ comment. It didn't take that much. I'm guessing deep down, you really wanted to more open about it."

"I was afraid."

"Why?"

"Because …as soon as someone knew – it would be real."

"Is that bad?"

"I've never really dated anyone where it was real. It was safe. When anything got serious, or looked like it could, I ended it."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I guess I was afraid of what would or could happen."

"No guts, no glory."

"And when was the last time you were on a date?"

"Uh .."she hesitated. She turned her head to the rest of the cabin for a moment. Did she mean to or was that reflexive? JJ couldn't tell. "Right before we left for Miami."

"Really?"

"Well, officially."

"What do you mean officially?"

"Officially. A date a date. The last time I was on a date, was the day before we left. I couldn't really go on a date while we were there, right?"

"Not unless…" JJ didn't finish the thought out loud. _Not unless she was dating someone on the team._

Emily wouldn't do that, would she? If she did, who could it be? Who would it be?

Rossi? No, he was too old.

Hotch? No – he was too serious, and it was too soon after his divorce.

Morgan? He was too much of a player for Emily.

Spence? No, he's …Spence.

Except, Emily was looking around the cabin again, No, not around the cabin. At one particular seat.

Reid's seat,

"So, Emily," JJ began, "This date – anyone I know?"

Emily smiled. "You have your secrets, I have mine."

"Except mine isn't a secret."

"Not anymore."

"And yours …"

"Still early."

"Didn't you just out me?"

"You outed yourself."

"What about..."

"I think it was time to out yourself. A secret relationship can only last so long. At some point, it will become known or die."

"And yours?"

"It's not quite time."

"How do you know," JJ asked.

Emily closed her book and held it in her lap. "I don't. Not really, I mean. I know how it feels when I'm with him. I know how it feels when I think about him. I don't know how _he_ feels when he's with me. I don't know if he's ready for scrutiny, yet."

"Have you asked him?"

"Not yet."

"Why?"

"I'm enjoying it. It's that early fun stage. I don't want to ask the question yet – I don't want to risk it yet."

"Didn't you just tell me no guts, no glory?"

"You've had six months of fun. I've only had a few weeks. Give me a little time."

"A few weeks, huh?"

"Maybe a month."

"Maybe two?"

"Well, not exactly."

"What do you mean, not exactly?"

"We kinda fooled around a few times before we started dating."

"A few times?"

"Yeah," Emily said with a dreamy smile on her face.

JJ raised her eyebrows. With Spence? She tried to picture it but she couldn't. No way. There was just no way Emily was sneaking around with Spence. No way Emily and Spence fooled around first, then started dating. Spence was the kind of guy who had to work up to fooling around.

It had to be someone else. Obviously she was misreading the signs.

* * *

Several hours later, Reid and Emily were in bed at his place – naked. "I screwed up,"Emily said.

"Oh?"

"I almost told JJ. I almost let it slip."

"It?"

"Us."

"Oh." Did he sound disappointed?

"In fairness, I'm a little jealous of her."

"Jealous?"

"Her relationship is out in the open."

"Do you think we should be out in the open?"

"At some point – if this is going to last – I don't see how we can avoid it."

"Do you think this can last?"

"I'm the wrong person to ask."

"Emily," Reid said," we're dating. You and I are the perfect people to know if it can last."

"No, I mean, my relationships usually don't last. I don't have a good track record."

"Well, at least you have a track record. You're my first real relationship."

"Sometimes you get it right the first time."

Reid laughed. "Well, I am a genius, after all."

Emily laughed, as she climbed on top of him," Well,.Mr. Genius, guess what I want to do now."


	5. Lo-fi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place during "Lo-fi"

Spencer Reid was grumpy.

No, thought Emily, not grumpy – pissy.

He had been all night. They were in a hotel in New York city on a case. It was a hell of a case to be sure – six apparently random shootings before they got there and another one today. The case came out of nowhere – the FBI agent in charge talked to Hotch directly. Apparently, they had a "liased" before.

There was the usual grumbling and distrust from some of the locals. Profilers, and by extension profiling, weren't always received by immediate respect. But that shouldn't set Spencer off. True, they had plans that this case had completely upended. But that happened all the time. If Reid was female, Emily would suspect it was PMS. By now, however, she could attest he was most definitely male.

Everything was bothering him. The room was too cold. They adjusted the temperature and then it was too hot. She had the TV too loud. Then it wasn't loud enough. He wanted to read. He didn't have the book he wanted. Finally, Emily had enough of it.

"What is your problem?"

"What do you mean," Reid said.

"Ever since we got to the hotel you have had a bug up your ass. So what is it? What is your problem?"

He held up a finger, as if to emphasize a point, but he could not come up with anything to say. He kept trying to say something, but his mouth didn't seem to cooperate. His furrowed brow made her think he was having trouble thinking of the words. Finally, he just sat down.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm…feeling rancor right now."

"Rancor?"

"It means deep-seated bitter ill-will."

"I know what it means," she said in an irritated tone.

There was a moment of awkward silence between them, then Emily spoke.

"So where does this _rancor_ come from?"

"I don't know, but it's in the way. I can't focus properly. Rancor is a blockage on the brain and it's interfering with my mental processes."

"Is it New York?"

"No."

"The hotel?"

"No."

"Because Will is here?"

"Why would that bother me?"

"I don't know. The only time I've seen you act like this was when you were using dialud. You're not, are you? Using, I mean."

"Of course not."

Emily leaned over him, blocking him in the chair with her arms and looking in his eyes. "I'm not kidding, Are you using?"

"No."

She kept staring intently in his eyes.

"I'm not!"

"Then what is this rancor?"

He bowed his head.

Emily backed away and turned around. "Is it the locals? Det. Brustin, maybe?"

"No."

"Are you sure? He was kinda rude."

"It wasn't him."

"Det. Cooper?"

Reid scowled.

"It was Det. Cooper, wasn't it?"

"Maybe."

"Why? What did he say?"

"Nothing. Nothing important."

Emily cocked her head. A thought was forming. Det. Cooper tried to flirt with Emily. It wasn't the first time some one from local law enforcement flirted with her. It was, however, the first time it happened since Reid and Emily started dating.

"It is Det. Cooper, isn't it? It isn't really rancor you are feeling, it's jealousy."

"Jealousy?"

"It means a feeling, attitude, or disposition of either hostility towards a rival or vigilance in guarding a possession or significant other."

Reid stood up. He pointed his finger at her and tried to speak. Like before, he couldn't form the words.

Emily smiled at him. "You are. You are jealous."

Reid's hand shook. He kept trying to speak. First it looked like he was trying to say 'no', now however he was trying to say a different word.

"Ye. Yeee. Y. Yeeeh! Yes."

When he finally said it, he dropped his arm down and gave a large sigh and bowed his head.

Emily felt a flash of heat form in her stomach, then her chest. It was a kind of elation.

She smiled more broadly. Reid was jealous. She knew she shouldn't feel good about this, but she did.

"Oh, my God," she exclaimed. "You are actually jealous."

"You don't have to enjoy it so much."

She seemed to consider that. "Yes, I think I do. My younger boyfriend is jealous."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"We can pretend there isn't an age difference, but we both know there is. It might not matter to you, but I have to acknowledge there are a lot of younger woman all around us to catch your eye."

"I'm not attracted to them. I have no interest in anyone but you."

"I know. And I'm not interested in anyone else but you. You know that, right?"

"Of course, I know that."

"But,…" she began, indicating he should complete her thought.

He tapped his head with his finger,"In here I know that. Cognitively. Intellectually. But I still…I feel this…"

"Rancor?"

"Jealousy."

"But now, we know what it is. And we can address it."

"How?"

"Like this." Emily wrapped her arms around him and started kissing him. They had a rule about no kissing or physical intimacy when on a case, but rules were made to be broken.

Besides, he did say his rancor and jealousy were getting in the way of his intellectual processes. So, alleviating these was a kind of operational need, wasn't it?

* * *

Two days later, Prentiss was walking the streets with Det. Cooper. He started to flirt again, so she decided it was time to shut this down once and for all. She did that by demonstrating her profiling prowess.

"The first day we met, "she said,"when your partner was sarcastic and said 'Yes, ma'am', your hand instinctively touched your shield. As if you were protecting it. That tells me you don't like him disrespecting the chain of command. But you didn't say anything, because you're loyal. I'd guess you were military, probably an officer. 'Praise in public, censure in private', right? You're right-handed, but you have two colors of pen marks on your left hand. I'd guess you have a toddler at home, just learning how to draw. You don't wear a ring, and you were quick to flirt with me. You are happy to let people think you are a player, but if I took you up on it you would run for the hills. Because you love your wife and you would never actually cheat on her."

Det. Cooper smiled, obviously impressed. "Well, we just might solve this case yet."

Emily walked away, smiling. She thought to herself, in spite of all of that, you made my boyfriend jealous. And jealous sex with Reid is hot.

She made a mental note of that, for future reference.


	6. Mayhem

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place right after the episodes Lo-Fi and Mayhem.

It was quiet on the BAU jet going home from New York city.

It had been one hell of a case. There was so much death and destruction. Agent Joyner of the FBI was from injuries from the IED that exploded her SUV. Hotch had injuries that meant he couldn't fly. Det. Cooper was, recovering well. Morgan risked him life to dispose of a bomb in assassination plot against someone whose identity was still, and probably would always be a secret.

Morgan and Hotch were driving home, so they weren't on the plane. JJ and Garcia were talking about baby names. Rossi was reading.

Reid and Emily were sitting across from each other. Reid was very quiet, and that concerned Emily.

"Are you okay?" She wished she could think of a better way to phrase the question, but the words were out of her mouth before she could think of a better way to ask.

"I'm fine. I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"The case. And about us."

"Us?"

"You and me."

"What about us?"

"It could have been us."

"What do you mean?"

"The explosion. It could have been either one of us who was killed."

"But that's any case. There is no guarantee on any case for safety. For that matter, anything could happen to us outside of work. We could get hit by a bus."

"I know." There was a haunted look in his eyes. It could be fear, but Emily didn't think so. But what could it be?

It's just," Reid said, "that this puts decisions about us into perspective."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, if anything could happen at moment, then putting anything off is a risk. Being overly cautious with time could actually increase the potential of the important things never happening."

"You've lost me. What are you trying to say?"

"Take us. We've only recently started dating. Most people would say taking the relationship too fast would be unwise."

"How fast is too fast?"

"I don't know. I know I love you."

"You do?" This is where you say you love him too, dumbass, Emily thought to herself.

"Yes. Of course, I do."

"This is the first time you've ever said it."

"Well, I do."

"I love you too."

"Really?" Her statement seemed to take him by surprise.

"You're surprised?"

"Well, I wasn't expecting you to say it back."

"Why not?"

"I don't know, I guess … I wouldn't blame you if you didn't." He bowed his head. "I mean..."

Emily put her hands on his. "Don't do this. Don't say it. Don't even think it. You are worthy of love. Do you hear me?" One of her hands touched his chin and she tilted his chin so his eyes met hers. "I love you. That isn't just words for me to say. I mean them. I've been afraid to say them first, but I mean them. I love you Spencer. I don't know where we are headed, but I do know I want to go as far as I can with this relationship. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Good."

They were quiet for a bit, then Reid spoke again. "What I was saying before…I meant to say that we don't know what will happen at any moment. So we don't know how much time we have."

"You are just full of optimism today."

"I didn't mean that a portent of gloom, just that …" he stopped. He had a perturbed look on his face, like he had indigestion. "What I mean is, I want to go as far as we can in this relationship. And if we both want to do that, and we both recognize the uncertainty of time, then there is no reason to go slowly."

"Ok. So, what are you thinking about?"

"I was thinking of …we could get married."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Married. That is, I think, the furthest a couple can go, right?"

Emily didn't know what to say. She didn't know what to think. "I..I…"

"Are you saying you don't want to get married?"

"I didn't say that. I did _not_ say that. I just …it's not the furthest a couple can go."

"What?"

"You said that getting married is the furthest a couple could go. It's not. It's just a beginning. Having kids. Owning a house. Staying older until they are both old and gray. That's the furthest a couple can go."

"Then, getting married isn't that big a step, is it?"

Emily was about to say something about moving too fast, when she saw an image of a house with a swing set in the backyard. Reid was pushing two brown-haired kids on swings. _Their_ kids.

She smiled. "No, no I guess it really isn't."

"Is that a yes?"

Emily was quiet for a moment. "There's only one problem. I don't think the Bureau will let us work together if get married."

"Then we don't tell them."

"We can't keep it a secret forever."

"Not forever. But if we get married, prove we can be effective in the field, they can't separate us."

Emily thought he was being overly optimistic but chose not to say so. "Yes."

"Yes?"

"Yes, I will marry you."

"Do you mean it?"

"Yes."

"Ok." He was quiet. "If you have your birth certificate…we could maybe arrange a trip to Vegas. It would be quick and …"

"Or just get married at a court house in Virginia."

"Virginia?"

"Fairfax county isn't that far away from DC, Spencer. It might not have the pizzazz of a Vegas wedding chapel, but it's good enough for me."

"Oh. Sure, if you like."

"I do."

Three weeks later, Reid and Emily were married by a justice of the peace at the Fairfax County Courthouse. Somehow they kept it a secret for a year and a half. Despite Emily's misgivings, Reid was right. Once it did come out, the FBI didn't separate them.

They did have kids - three, not two. They didn't have enough room in their backyard for a swing set, but they grew old and grey together.

That was more than enough.


End file.
